June 20 at Lincoln South Rotary - Cause Collective

Cause Collective strengthens nonprofits to better serve the community through collaboration, education and advocacy.

 

Laura shared that when she was young she had the same dreams and ideas as many young people - moving to a booming metropolis with a high-level job. But, as she reached adulthood she realized that she was where she wanted to be - in Lincoln. This is where she lived and was invested in the community. She has always worked in the nonprofit field and finds it rewarding to work at Cause Collective - a nonprofit serving other nonprofits.

 

She asked those in attendance to share what they think of / who they think of when they hear nonprofit. Some of the responses:

 

She said that besides these organizations that provide services, nonprofits include schools, trade associations, etc. - so there are thousands of nonprofit organizations in Lincoln. They are all doing important work and making a difference in our community. Even if they are serving in similar efforts they may not know each other - may not talk with each other.

 

Some have questioned the need for services such as Cause Collective provides - it is just more bureaucracy? They are a step removed from the nonprofits. They are helping all organizations by providing an opportunity for them to get to know each other to work together and be successful in their roles. There have been times when they have been presented with an idea for a new nonprofit. But after reviewing the vision may find that the need might be better served if affiliated with a nonprofit that already exists - already has expended funds for gaining nonprofit status and setting up website and services. 

 

They also provide services to the staff and boards of the nonprofits. By providing professional development and mentoring, they have been able to help individuals find success with their careers.

 

Laura shared that people come to them with a passion - a vision - but they may not have the capacity to run a nonprofit. For example, they may have passion to serve a segment of the population, but do they know . . . 

. . . how to fill out the IRS forms

. . . how to use social media effectively

. . . write an employee manual

. . . groups that they can partner with - those providing similar services

. . . how to connect with legislators setting policy

 

She explained that Cause Collective is a connector. They provide resources to allow people to be effective with serving through their organizations - serving the sector that they are passionate about.

 

She stated that they have three major areas of focus - Collaboration, Education and Advocacy.

 

Collaboration is awareness building such as presenting to Lincoln South Rotary Club today. They hold peer-to-peer round table events to provide opportunities for people with similar functions can share best practices. An example might be the discussion of volunteer coordinators to share how they reach out, track hours and needs. Some of the numbers from last year:

- - Round Tables - 20 events with nearly 200 registrants

- - Networking Socials - 3 events with 229 registrants

- - Outreach events - 5 events with 51 member nonprofits

 

Education is provided in many forms and at many levels. Some of these events come up "as needed" and are a single-session / single-topic event. They also have day-long conferences that cover a variety of topics. And they have mentoring which is a 6-month program. Some of the statistics for last year:

- - 10 Member Meetings with over 510 registrants; Laura mentioned that when she worked for Leadership Lincoln she attended the member meetings and appreciated learning about other nonprofits; they would self-introduce and share upcoming events

- - Training events - 23 with over 779 registrations

- - Skill Share which connects a member staff with a specialist for a specific need - 43 connections

- - Board of Directors training - 26 events